Elevators
by Strata The Oracle
Summary: In which Nico is stuck in an elevator with an annoying daughter of Demeter and Harmony decides that elevator aren't that bad. NicoxOc One-shot First ever story, so I'm definately in need of some help, but kindly.


Title: Elevators

**Author: Strata Of The Travelers**

**Descriptions: In which Nico is stuck in an elevator with an annoying daughter of Demeter and Harmony decides that elevator aren't that bad.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nico Di Angelo or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own Sarah and Harmony.**

At about the age of six, Harmony decided that she hated elevators. This irrational fear continued far after she found out that she was a half-blood and that there were bigger things to be afraid of, like monsters and demons. There were still elevators, like a fly right in the middle of the ointment of life. It was after long deliberation that she finally got into one. And of course, twenty drachmas.

"Do it!"

"No,"

"c'mon!"

"Not in the next century!"

Sarah was Harmony's best friend. She was tall with blonde hair and jade green eyes, an opposite of Harmony's own black hair and hazel eyes. She was a daughter of Athena and had absolutely no problem pushing her childhood friend out of her comfort zone.

"If you don't do it," Sarah prodded "you won't get any of these."

The coins clinked, reminding Harmony just how much she needed some cash, even if she could only use these at camp. They'd be going back in a week, anyways. Harmony bit her lip nervously.

She sucked in a breath before letting out her answer in one tortured sigh:

"Fine,"

She let Sarah do a little happy dance as she marched up to an elevator they'd been camped out in front of at the art museum near Sarah's house. She took a breath, pushed the "up" button and waited an unmerciful two seconds as the door opened.

It was just her luck that another person breezed in with her as she took that first step into her own personal torture chamber.

He was fairly tall with dark hair that fell over his eyes. He wore all black and had a ring that had a skull design in the center and wore a tattered aviator jacket. He looked about her age. His pale hand swiftly withdrew from the pocket of his baggy jeans a he pushed the number two with one finger.

"What number?" he asked, and Harmony jumped, startled.

"Three," She breathed softly.

The museum Sarah had taken them to had exactly three floors. Sarah would wait at the top near the elevator with Harmony's money. She would be taking the stairs, curse her.

The boy groaned softly, as if annoyed that she was causing him to waste extra energy by not going on the same floor as he was and pushed the button in the same manner as before and then leaned back onto the wall of the elevator.

The elevator picked up onto its destination, and then – right before reaching the second floor – it stopped.

Harmony's first thought was to panic. To scream and pound at the doors and fall into a lump on the ground, crying. In fact, she would have if another person hadn't been standing next to her.

Another person who was looking very upset right now.

Maybe upset enough to punch through steel.

Her second thought was, this could work out for her.

The boy was about to burst when he banged his fist against she side of the elevator.

"Whattheheckareyoudoing?" She screeched in a rush.

The boy shrugged, seeming a bit calmer than before. "Usually works." He said.

Harmony took a breath before saying "This happens often?"

The boy shrugged, as if he had filled his quota of words to say this week.

"Well…" she said, trying to collect herself, "why don't we just push that alarm button." She finished slowly. Oh gods, was going hyperventilate?

He shrugged and chuckled. "That thing never works."

"So… what do we do?" She asked timidly. Breathe. Breathe harmony. Everything will be fine. Breathe.

At that the boy plopped down onto the steel floor.

"Now," he said "We wait,"

And Harmony prayed to Olympus that she wouldn't have to wait too long

"You want a cigarette?" He asked, and she made a face.

He shrugged and lit it up.

They were both sitting on the floor of the elevator waiting for something to happen.

"Don't do that," she said. It had taken only a short time to turn panic into annoyance. "We'll be choking on smoke in a couple hours," He shrugged and put it out.

After a few moments of silence she asked "what's your name?"

"Nico,"

Suddenly her face lit up in recognition.

"Nico, as in 'Nico Di Angelo: son of Hades'?" She nearly shouted.

"Yeah," he said, shrugging, as if this was a daily occurrence.

"You from camp?"

"Yes,"

"Your parent?"

"Demeter,"

He snorted. And she glared at him.

"What?" She said.

"Nothing, it's just that I've met her and she's not the best person to be around,"

Harmony crossed her arms and glared.

"You've obviously never met her,"

Ouch. That stung. She felt like she had been just been punched in the stomach.

There was an awkward silence before he said

"Sorry I didn't mean it like that,"

"It's okay," She murmured. "It's my fault anyways,"

Nico looked perplexed. "How so?"

At that she actually laughed, only the laugh was hollow and dead.

"I hate elevators. The only reason I'm in one now is because my friend dared me to so I could face my fear. I've never been able to go on the one to Olympus so…" she trailed off, like that needed any more explanation.

"S'not your fault," he said after a while "she should visit you,"

Harmony shrugged and looked at her shoes, at loss for a way to respond.

He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her and she felt comfortable there. Maybe, Harmony thought, elevators weren't so bad.

Sarah really couldn't understand her friend's luck. Was it possible that she could have absolutely none of it? Because this made absolutely no sense that the onetime Harmony decided to go on an elevator it broke down between floors one and two. After the news had been spread about the elevator, Sarah had decided that floor three could just go to Hades because after this she was sure Harmony would want to go home and lock herself in the bathroom until the end of the week when they would be able to go back to camp half-blood, which was what she'd done last year when she'd found a dead, maggot infested rat in the gutter.

After of a few hours of waiting in a crowd of people for the elevator to be fixed by a handyman with a handlebar mustache, the elevator started up onto the second floor with a 'Ding'.

The elevator opened and Harmony left along with a boy from camp – Nico something, she couldn't remember – and Sarah rushed up and hugged her.

"I am so sorry Harm," She said.

"It's okay," she said "In fact I think I'm okay with elevators now,"

And Sarah would have questioned, that is, if she hadn't noticed that Nico had Harmony's lipstick all over his lips.

**A/N**

**So… what do you think? For my first story I mean. Good? Bad? Please review! All flames will be fed to Hestia's hearth.**


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